From the Nineteenth Discourse—page 387-388
in Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master, by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi, trans. Muhtar Holland. An Ashki Book of Amity House, Warwick: 1988.
Spiritual Insight of the Venerable ‘Uthmān
The third Caliph of the Messenger of the Lord of all worlds was ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān. He once said to a person who came into his presence: “Go and perform a full ablution before you come here again. Do not sit next to me in a state of major ritual impurity!” The man protested: “But I am not in that state, Commander of the Faithful!” “How can you say that?” said the venerable ‘Uthmān. “On your way here, did you not look at a woman and commit fornication with your eyes?” The man blushed with shame. “Yes,” he confessed, “I did gaze with lust at a woman who is not my wife.” He then went and performed a complete ablution, after which he was accepted in the Caliph’s presence.
Those who are close to God have insight like the venerable ‘Uthmān. In a Sacred Tradition, the Knower of the Unseen tells us: “Through the supererogatory acts of worship My servant performs for Me, I draw so close to him that he sees through Me and hears through Me.”
“O Sāriya, the Mountain..!”
The second true Caliph, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, was delivering a sermon one day in Medina the Illumined when he suddenly started crying: “O Sāriya! The mountain! O Sāriya! The mountain!” After this outburst, he calmly went on with his sermon.
At this time, the Muslim army was doing battle with the Persians at Qādisīya. Sāriya held an important position in the Muslim army and the unit under his command was under heavy pressure from the Persian forces. The situation was becoming critical when Sāriya heard the voice of the venerable ‘Umar crying: “O Sāriya, the mountain!” He thereupon pulled his troops back up the mountain. Thanks to the Caliph’s command, the Muslims not only escaped a serious defeat; by outflanking the Persian army they turned the tables completely.
Medina and Qādisīya were three months’ marching time apart, yet Allāh made ‘Umar aware of the state of his army as if that distance meant nothing. Perhaps the “spiritual radar” given to the venerable ‘Umar could have scanned events taking place at distances of three years, three hundred years or three thousand years, while his “spiritual microphone” could have transmitted his voice over equally great distances.
We ought not to be unduly amazed at Allāh’s granting such a miracle to the venerable ‘Umar, who was the gate of the City of Justice. Any human being who worships God above and beyond the call of duty can attain such high degrees, where the eye sees with God and the ear hears with Him. Besides, the Prophet, on him be peace, said of the venerable ‘Umar: “Were there any Prophet to come after me, if I were not the last of the Messengers, ‘Umar would be the Messenger to com.” We should hardly doubt the capacity of such a being to perform a tiny miracle like this…
The Holy Qur’ān tells us of the many miraculous powers possessed by the Prophets of the Children of Israel and the saints who were their heirs. To those who follow the hypocrites in casting aspersions on the venerable Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī, or on the pure wives and others close to Muhammad, I offer this reminder: everything the Messenger said and did was from Allāh. Of this we find ample evidence in the Holy Qur’ān, including the Verse:
Clear proofs have come to you from your Lord. [6:104]
Certain Iranians are implacable foes of the venerable ‘Umar. In fact, it was the venerable ‘Umar whose conquest of Iran brought its people to Islam and ensured their happiness in the Hereafter. Without an ‘Umar, the Muslims might have found it rather difficult to conquer the great Persian Empire…